June 12: Humphrey Nwosu as a metaphor.

There is no doubt that Humphrey Nwosu deserves the recognition too. He does in every way and by every measure. I think Kingibe is an aberration in there for reasons we all know. He did not only abandon but aided in subverting the mandate. Whats more, it somewhat makes a mockery of Buhari’s lamentations about Ume-Ezeoke’s sabotage to confer a national honour on a man MKO Abiola himself reportedly described as ‘a slave of money’.

Having said that let it not be lost on any that these decisions are rarely made devoid of politics. It involves negotiations, give and take. It is therefore perceivable that Kingibe (who will probably be feeding his peacocks when his name was mentioned) became a bargaining chip for the North to at least make it kind of balanced, to give it a semblance of equity if you like, after all he was on the ticket.

Poor Humphrey Nwosu. Who is on the negotiating table to mention his name? Who will insist that the courageous umpire should be honoured not only for standing up to the muzzle but also for conducting the freest and fairest election in our history?

The answer is no one. And there it ends. In my village nobody keeps roast chicken for the man who went to Onitsha. If you are not on the dinner table your share is shared!

A Yoruba friend recently said that he was getting tired of the politics of eye service by his people to which another friend of mine,an Igbo man argued that to “the contrary it is because the Yoruba are deft at playing politics of eye service that they are more sophisticated in negotiating the treacherous Northern dominated politics of Nigeria. We Igbos play politics with emotion and thus deal ourselves out even before the whistle is blown (which when it backfires leaves no room for effective realignment as in the process our passion inadvertently stokes emotions of others against us)”

I have a feeling that those Ohaneze elders who did not bother to reply Buhari during the 2015 campaign would have felt uneasy as Nwodo chided Buhari for leaving out Nwosu. This is why the Igbo political elite ought to know that the current trend of emotional politics will only alienate the SE further. After all if we acknowledge Achebe’s postulation on a “common resentment of the Igbo” among Nigerians then we have to also agree with the legendary author on our “overweening pride and thoughtlessness which invite envy and hatred”.

It is time to discharge the mindset of playing the victim card for votes. Every other region seems to be playing the same card and its now a weak over-flogged tactic. Politics is about power struggle and nobody really has time for sentiments. However, it is still a game of permanent interests not enemies.

Igbos cannot continue on the current path of self inflicted political alienation.I have asked and will keep asking, who will bell the cat? Because even if you hate President Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu you still have to accept that they are adored by their people and will be even more as the alliance yields more dividends.

Who is that leader that can boast of such following among Igbos? Is it the fortunate but naive Ijaw man that has retired to Otuoke? Or the fraudulent Rabbi that absconded with monies contributed by ignorant youths?

Yes Jonathan and Kanu are the most popular people in the South East.

We need to ask ourselves one simple question. In a round table where deep critical and philosophical thinking are requisite for development of national projections and strategies, who would better serve our purpose? Who would you rather have on that table as a representative?